But he is remembered mainly for what he did not do: grasp the political dimensions of Martin Luther’s challenge to church doctrine. When he was elected, Leo XI was almost 70 years of age, and he died 27 days later. [26], Pastor says that "From his youth, Leo, who had a fine ear and a melodious voice, loved music to the pitch of fanaticism". While today even accusations of a less than exemplary life are enough to force a cardinal’s resignation, in 1513 things were rather different. Leo agreed to invest Charles V with the Kingdom of Naples, to crown him Holy Roman Emperor, and to aid in a war against Venice.

In 1500 he returned to Italy and settled in Rome. Destined for religious life, de’ Medici received the tonsure—a ceremony involving the cutting of hair from the head, thus indicating the change of status from lay to clerical—at the early age of eight, and five years later he became the cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Dominica. He especially delighted in ex tempore Latin verse-making (at which he excelled) and cultivated improvisatori. [28] He also fostered technical improvements developed for the diffusion of such scores. Having spent his youth at the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici, he had acquired the mannerisms and tastes of one of the most brilliant societies of Europe and posed a sharp contrast to the soldier-pope whom he succeeded. Leo X, who inherited the council before it was a year old, was little inclined to preside over the sweeping reforms that the church so desperately needed on the eve of the Protestant Reformation. Pretty nice post. The construction of St. Peter’s Basilica—initiated under Julius II—was accelerated, the holdings of the Vatican Library were greatly increased, and the arts flourished.

He died in 1521 and is buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. Other promotions were for political or family considerations or to secure money for the war against Urbino. But in the making of reputations, timing is everything. Leo showed special favours to the Jews and permitted them to erect a Hebrew printing-press at Rome. Five hundred years ago, on Friday 4 March 1513, the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church gathered in conclave. Pope Leo XI (2 June 1535 – 27 April 1605), born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 to 27 April 1605. While Piero found refuge at Venice and Urbino, Giovanni traveled in Germany, in the Netherlands, and in France.[4]. 5. Some believe enforcing these decrees may been enough to dampen support for radical challenge to church authority. Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici was born in Florence[3] as the son of Francesca Salviati and Ottaviano. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The most recent biography of the pope speculates that his private life may have been marked by moral irregularity: Celebrated Crimes, Vol. Leo followed by formally excommunicating Luther by the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem or It Pleases the Roman Pontiff, on 3 January 1521. Leo X, one of the leading Renaissance popes (reigned 1513–21). His bull of July 1519, which regulated the discipline of the Polish Church, was later transformed into a concordat by Clement VII. "[15] However, there is no doubt that he was by nature pleasure-loving and that the anecdote reflects his casual attitude to the high and solemn office to which he had been called. He fit extremely well into the atmosphere of calm and quiet of which Rome was desirous after 10 years under Julius II. He made the capital of Christendom, Rome, a center of European culture. The exploitation of people and corruption of religious principles that was linked to the practice of selling indulgences quickly became the key stimulus for the onset of the Protestant Reformation.

Louis XII of France marched into Italy in 1513 to make good his claims to Milan and Naples. Pope Leo XIII composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, asking his protection. On 23 March 1492, he was formally admitted into the Sacred College of Cardinals and took up his residence at Rome, receiving a letter of advice from his father. In his struggle to dominate Italy, Leo X was confronted by the awesome power of Spain and the determination of the French kings. At the court of his father, he received the finest education available in Europe; one of his several tutors was the philosopher Pico della Mirandola. The election of Pope Alexander VI took de’ Medici back to Rome for the conclave (assembly of cardinals to elect the pope); otherwise he lived in Florence until he was exiled in November 1494 with the other members of the Medici family on the charge of betraying the republic. [6], Leo was disturbed throughout his pontificate by schism, especially the Reformation sparked by Martin Luther. More than a century ago, in 1899, Pope Leo XIII issued his encyclical Testem Benevolentiae about the dangers of “Americanism.” The United States of America was founded on classical liberalism. Called by Julius II two years before his death, the council was designed to nullify the efforts of nine rebellious cardinals who had called for a council to meet at Pisa in order to revive the conciliar movement, which promoted the idea that a general church council had greater authority than the pope and could depose him. In the 17th century it was estimated that 300 or 400 writers, more or less, reported (on the authority of a single polemical anti-Catholic source) a story that when someone had quoted to Leo a passage from one of the Four Evangelists, he had replied that it was common knowledge "how profitable that fable of Christe hath ben to us and our companie. Crimes for the moment disappeared, to give place to vices; but to charming vices, vices in good taste, such as those indulged in by Alcibiades and sung by Catullus.”When he became Pope, Leo X is reported to have said to his brother Giuliano: “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.”. He remained there until 1598 when he received word of his appointment as the Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars.[8]. [citation needed], Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quirico e Giulitta, Cardinal-Priest of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere, International Alliance of Catholic Knights, Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution, Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII, Pope Pius XII Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Genealogical tables of the House of Medici, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Leo_XI&oldid=981601551, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Pages using S-rel template with ca parameter, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars (1598–1605), This page was last edited on 3 October 2020, at 10:09. It was a historically minded culture where artists' representations of Cupid and the Madonna, of Hercules and St. Peter could exist side-by-side". 6. [43], Pope Leo X died fairly suddenly of pneumonia at the age of 45 on 1 December 1521 and was buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. (See Researcher’s Note: The posting of the theses.). "[19] These aspersions and more were examined by William Roscoe in the 19th century (and again by Ludwig von Pastor in the 20th) and rejected. It was a titular church reverted from its previous name of San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane. Large sums of money were also spent on the acquisition of highly ornamented musical instruments, and he was especially assiduous in securing musical scores from Florence. Leo X, originally Giovanni de’ Medici, (born December 11, 1475, Florence [Italy]—died December 1, 1521, Rome), one of the leading Renaissance popes (reigned 1513–21). Catherine Fletcher is Lecturer in Public History at the University of Sheffield. Leo X's consistory of 1 July 1517 saw 31 cardinals created, and this remained the largest allocation of cardinals in one consistory until Pope John Paul II named 42 cardinals in 2001. Leo’s historical reputation is, in part, a product of unlucky timing. Crimes for the moment disappeared, to give place to vices; but to charming vices, vices in good taste, such as those indulged in by Alcibiades and sung by Catullus. We showed also how easy the devotion is and how suited to thepeople, offering an absolutely perfect model of domestic life in meditation onthe Holy Family at Nazareth, and that therefore Christendom had never failed toexperience its salutary effects. These sums, together with the considerable amounts accruing from indulgences, jubilees, and special fees, vanished as quickly as they were received. The advice given him by his father Lorenzo ‘The Magnificent’, de facto ruler of Florence, is instructive. There had been antipopes, rival claimants to the papacy, before, but most of them had been appointed by various rival factions; in this case, the legitimate leaders of the Church themselves had created both popes. [6], On 24 May, Luther sent an explanation of his theses to the pope; on 7 August he was summoned to appear at Rome. With the corpse propped up on a throne, a deacon was appointed to answer for the deceased pontiff, who was condemned for performing the functions of a bishop when he had been deposed and for receiving the pontificate while he was the bishop of Porto, among other revived charges that had been leveled against Formosus in the strife during the pontificate of John VIII.